Rubber heel



L. J. SCHAEFER.

RUBBER HEEL.

APPLICATION FILED DEG.26, 1919.

1 ,383,1 55'. Patented June 28, 1921.

UNITED STATES LEO J. SCHAELEER, 0F TOLEDO, OHIO.

PATENT OFFICE. v

RUBBER HEEL.

Application filed December 26, 1919. Serial No. 347,304.

To all whom it may camera:

Be it known that I, Leo J. SCHAEFER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Rubber Heel; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to removable rubber heels and it has for its object to provide a means for readily connecting and discon necting replaceable heels to and from a shoe and also to provide in such a heel a means whereby the heel will be uniformly resilient throughout the supporting surface.

Details of my invention may be varied in form without departing from the spirit thereof. To illustrate a practical application of the invention I have selected one form of rubber heel containing the invention. The particular form selected is illus trated in the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 illustrates a top view of the heel having a circular retaining member. Fig. 2 illustrates a top view of the same heel hav ing an oblong retaining member. F ig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 33 indicated in Fig. 1.

1 in the figures is a rubber heel. It is provided with a circular recess 2 into which extends a returned portion or flange 3. A channel 4 that is thus formed is thus located about midway between the upper and lower surfaces of the heel. The heel is also provided with a portion 5 that protrudes into the recess 2 and is of a size that leaves a considerable area about the protuberance within the recess 2. The protuberance 5 thus forms an annular recess within the heel. The protuberance 5 also has a recess 6 to increase the resilience of the protuberance 5 and consequently of the heel as a whole. The protuberance 5 thus resiliently supports the central portion of the heel and by reason of the relation of its size to the size of the recess 2 and also by reason of the recess 6 it produces resiliency in the heel and at the same time supports the supportlng surface of.the heel. A retaining member 7 is attached to the bottom of the shoe by any suitable means such as by the brads or nails 8. The retaining member 7 is preferably formed of sheet metal having a surface 9 that corresponds and fits the surface of the shoe above the heel portion. The retaining member 7 has a flange 11 that extends away from the shoe and the edge of the flange is curved or spun so as to form a relative large bead 10 extending around the outer edge of the flange. The bead 10 is so located that the inwardly extending flange 3 of the heel Wlll snugly fit beneath the bead 10. The bead 10 is thus located in the channel 4 and its size relative to the size of the channel 4 is such as to leave considerable room for the movement of the rubber beneath and at the side of the bead 10. By this arrangement the bead does not compress the rubber, but the supporting portion of the heel is al lowed free play to permit its resiliency to act in forming a cushionfor the wearer when walking. Also the protuberance 5 extends to the top of the inverted cup shape retaining member 7 and makes contact therewith on the annulus formed about the recess 6.

The heel is secured by forcing the flange 3 above the bead 10 until the bead enters the channel 4i. As the heel wears it may be turned about the retaining member 7 to bring less worn portions in that position of the heel where most wear isproduced, that is, at the back of the heel and usually at one or the other side at the back.

The cup shaped retaining member be made cylindrical in form or it may be made oblong as indicated in Fig. 2. The heel itself may be made cylindrical in form and stretched over the longer axis of the retaining member. The heel will then be oblong in form and will conform more accurately to the shape of the bottom surface of the ordinary heel, particularly at the back and sides. The heel, although stretched to form an oblong heel may also be rotated about the oblong retaining member owing to the elasticity of the rubber of which the heel is formed in order that portions of the heel may be placed at the back where most of the wearing is performed.

In order to prevent the flange 3 from being pulled over the bead particularly in the oblong form of the heel shown in Fig. 2, angular strips 12 are located in spaced relation about the flange 3. The upper inturned ends 13 press against the bead and tend to hold the lower side portion 14 against the 7 may shoe. The upturned ends 15 engage in the rubber and thus the heel is held against the shoe notwithstanding the pull caused by stretching of the rubber.

I claim v In a rubber heel, a retaining member hav- 7 ing a beaded flange around its lower edge,

the rubber heel having a recess and an inwardly extending flange, the flange fitting around the outside of the retaining member 10 and above the bead and angular retaining strips securedto the'heel and having parts thereof located on the outside of the flange to form a bearingsurface against the upper side of the bead. V

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name to this specification.

LEO J. SCHAEFER. 

